Air cleaner



Oct. 10, 1933. HEATHER 1,930,357

AIR CLEANER Filed May 25, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet l Oct. 10, 1533. H1,930,357

AIR CLEANER Filed May 25, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Oct. 10, 1933UNITED STATES AIR CLEANER Frederick Heather, Sudbury Hill, Harrow,England Application May 25, 1932, Serial No. 613,504, and in GreatBritain May 26, 1931 3 Claims.

This invention relates to air cleaners for the removal of dust and.other particles of foreign matter from the induction air of internalcombustion engines. 7

The invention may also find useful employment with other apparatus whereit is desired that air or gas flowing to the apparatus be freed fromforeign matter. i

The object of the invention is to provide an air cleaner which willefficiently remove the foreign matter, and which at the same time iscompact, composed of but few parts, and which can be readily assembledtogether.

The invention consists in an air cleaner comprising a casing providedwith an inlet and an outlet for the air, and having therein one or moreelements comprising filling material which will retain foreign matterlocated within and surrounded by a support which permits passage of theair to the material.

More specifically the cleaner, according to the invention, may comprisea box or container having an inlet and an outlet for air, and providedinternally with a helical element or elements having a filling of hair,the arrangement being such that the air entering the box or containerthrough the inlet flows between the coils of the helical element orelements'and in contact with and through the filling before passing tothe outlet.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in which like referencecharacters indicate similar parts throughout the several views:

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of an air cleanerconstructed according to the invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevation partly in section looking inthe directionof the arrow Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure l of a modified form.

Figures 4 and 5 are sectional elevation and plan views respectively of afurther modification.

Figures 6 and 7 are sectional elevations of still further modifications,and Figure 8 is a detail view in elevation of brush material employed asthe filling as hereafter described.

Referring now to Figures 1 and 2 there is provided a flat box or casinga, preferably of circular form, which is closed at its open side by adetachable cover b which is provided with a centrally extending tubularportion 0, for attaching the device to the induction pipe for example ofan internal combustion engine, and a flange d adapted to fit over themargin of the casing a.

The peripheral wall e of the casing a is provided with a row ofperforations j for the passage into the apparatus of air to be cleaned.

An arched bridge piece g is secured centrally to the inner side of thecover I) and has secured to it a screwed stud h adapted to extendthrough an aperture 1' in the central part of the side wall of thecasing a whereby the two parts of the casing can be secured together bya nut a. The cover and casing may be covered on their interior surfaceswith felt or other soft material so as to prevent noise occurring due tovibration of the cleaning element to be described hereafter. In theexample now described the cover and casing are each provided with a ring(k, l) of 7 felt which bears on either side of the cleaning element tobe hereafter described. The casin and cover portion are preferablyformed by stamping or pressing from sheet metal, it being understoodthat the perforations will be drilled 7 or punched in the sheet metalprior to the pressing or stamping operations. The tubular portion 0 ispreferably produced during stamping of the cover by providing slotsextending radially towards the centre of the part to form the cover andpressing the triangular portions m outwardly so that they stand at rightangles to the face of the cover. A length or strip n of thin metal isthen bent around the outer surfaces of the triangular projections m andthe ends of the latter bent over the outer edge of the strip as shown.The strip n is also provided with apertured lugs o for a bolt 1),whereby 'to secure the apparatus with the extension in gripping relationto the intake, for example, of an internal combustion engine.

Within the box or container there is provided a support consisting of ahelical compression spring element q, the diameter of which is such thatit will fit between the sides of the box and the cover when placedwithin the latter in the manner now to be described.

The spring is placed in position within the box by bending it intocircular form so as to bring its ends into abutting relation, and theninsert- 10 ing it into the box, it being understood that the spring willlie round the interior of the box and will tend to open out but will beprevented from so doing by engagement with the inner surface of theperipheral wall. If desired, the end coils of the spring may be providedwith a clip to hold the spring in circular form. A central space 1 willbe left into which the gas flows after passing between the coils of thespring before passing out through the outlet 0.

The individual coils each lie substantially in a radial plane, thusleaving spaces between the adjacent coils which gradually narrow fromthe upper part of the spring to the central portion thereof. Within thespring there is provided a core or filling which may be of cotton wool,rubber sponge, for example material known as Sorbo, or any othersuitable yielding material which will have the effect of gathering thedust and foreign matter from the air flowing in contact with it. Thecoils of the spring element may be covered with absorbent material as byemploying a spring having its coils wound with cotton wool or cottonthread. It is preferred, however, that the core or filling consist ofbrush material s composed of'horse hair bristles t or fine metal wirecarried by wires u twisted together as shown in Figure 8, the springbeing of an internal diameter so that when the length of brush materialis inserted in the spring, which is effected by pushing it endwise intothe spring, the outer portions of the bristles lie longitudinally andare confined in a substantially cylindrical layer against the innersurface of the spring.

Referring now to the form shown in Figure 3, the casing comprises a pairof somewhat domeshaped plates 1), w but otherwise the construction isthe same as that described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. The airflows into the apparatus through the annular space between the edges ofthe plates as indicated by the arrows.

Referring now to Figures 4 and 5, a cylindrical casing a: is employedopen at one end and provided with a cover 11 which is constructed andsecured to the casing in a similar manner to the cover described withreference to Figures 1 and 2. The peripheral wall of the casing isperforated as indicated at l for the inflow of air.

Within the casing there is provided a perforated metal cylinder 2, of adiameter substantially equal to the outlet and having secured to itsouter periphery a number of elements 3 consisting of helical springshaving a filling as above described. The springs are secured in place bysoldering their end coils to the cylinder 2. In the spaces between thesprings there are provided partitions of sheet metal 4 covered on eachside with felt 5 or other suitable material and rings of felt 6 and 7are also provided on the inner face of the end wall of the container andcover.

The form shown in Figure 6 is similar to that described with referenceto Figure 5, except that the springs are held in position by means ofhooks B which fit over the edge of the perforated metal cylinder 2 andrings 9 and 10. The ring 10 is provided with a cross bar throughapertures in which extend studs 11 and 12 carried by the ring 9, thestuds being provided with nuts for holding the rings securely in place.

Figure 7 illustrates a modification in which between the peripheral wallof the casing and the inner tubular member there are provided aplurality of cleaning elements 13 of circular formation as describedwith reference to Figures 1 and 2 and arranged one above the other.Rings of felt 14 are provided between each ring and the next.

Assuming that the apparatus is attached to an internal combustion engineinducing pipe, the action is as follows:

The air enters the casing through peripheral openings in the box orcontainer and flows between the coils of the spring element or elementsinto contact with and through the filling material therein which gathersor collects any dust, moisture or other foreign matter. The aireventually passes to the centre of the box into the space unoccupied bythe spring and then flows in a clean condition through the tubularportion to the induction pipe.

The spring elements as described with reference to Figures 1, 2, 3, and7, are preferably such that when in non-tensioned condition, that is, before being placed in the casing, a few of the coils at each end arespaced apart more widely than at the central portion so as to providefor greater compression of the end portions to facilitate insertion ofthe spring into position within the container and also to securely holdthe spring in position within the container.

The apparatus can be readily disassembled for cleaning or renewal of thefilling of the helical elements by removing the nut, taking off one partof the casing and removing the brush elements 1 or absorbent material.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by letters Patent isz- 1. An air cleaner comprising a casingprovided with an inlet and an outlet for the air and having therein anelement consisting of a helical spring support and bristles of hairlongitudinal- 1y arranged relatively of said support and the bristlesconstituting filling material for the support which will retain foreignmatter strained from the air but which permits passage of the airthrough the material.

2. An air cleaner as claimed in claim 1, in which the bristles of hairare supported by wires twisted together and inserted Within the helicalsupport, the bristles being of such dimensions that the outer endsthereof lie in a substantially cylindrical layer within the cleaner.

3. An air cleaner as claimed in claim 1 in which 13 the casing iscylindrical and has an axial outlet and is provided with an openingadmitting air into the casing through its periphery.

FREDERICK HEATHER.

